Abstract—In this research, biodiesel wastes such as palm shells (PS) and Jatropha curcas fruit shells (JS) were used for the synthesis of activated carbon by chemical activation method using potassium hydroxide (KOH) as an activating agent. The effects of acidic treatment in hydrofluoric acid (HF), impregnation ratio, activation temperature and activation time on the adsorption capacity of methylene blue (MB) and iodine (I2) solution were examined. The results showed that HF-treated activated carbons exhibited high adsorption capacities by eliminating ash residues, which might fill up the pores. In addition, the adsorption capacities of methylene blue and iodine solution were also significantly influenced by the types of raw materials, the activation temperature and the activation time. The highest adsorption capacity of methylene blue of 257.07 mg/g and iodine of 847.58 mg/g were obtained from Jatropha curcas wastes.

Index Terms—Activated carbon, biodiesel wastes, Jatropha curcas fruit shells (JS), palm shells (PS).

Achanai Buasri, Nattawut Chaiyut, and Vorrada Loryuenyong are with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000 Thailand and the National Center of Excellence for Petroleum, Petrochemicals and Advanced Materials, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok 10330 Thailand (e-mail: achanai130@hotmail.com, nchaiyut@hotmail.com, vorrada@gmail.com).
Ekasit Phakdeepataraphan, Somchai Watpathomsub, and Vasin Kunakemakorn are undergraduate students in bachelor's degree program with the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Industrial Technology, Silpakorn University, Nakhon Pathom 73000 Thailand (e-mail: man.ekasit@gmail.com, senator0267@gmail.com, coaching_win@hotmail.com).

Cite:A. Buasri, N. Chaiyut, V. Loryuenyong, E. Phakdeepataraphan, S. Watpathomsub, and V. Kunakemakorn, "Utilization of Biodiesel Wastes as a Bioresource for the Preparation of Activated Carbon," International Journal of Applied Physics and Mathematics vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 173-177, 2013.